Earthmoving machines, such as bulldozers, may be used to move materials at a work site. Such machines may operate in an autonomous or semi-autonomous manner to perform ground moving tasks in response to commands generated as part of a work plan for the machine. The machine may receive instructions based on such a work plan to perform operations (e.g., cutting, digging, loosening, carrying, etc.) at the worksite.
If such a machine operates autonomously, it may remain consistently productive without needing manual operation. Autonomous control systems may also allow for operation in work sites or environments which may be unsuitable or undesirable for a human operator. Further, autonomous and semi-autonomous systems may also compensate for inexperienced human operators and inefficiencies associated with repetitive ground moving tasks.
Control of ground moving machines and their associated work tools or implements is often developed by an on-board or off-board control system. Conditions associated with work sites, operation environment, and/or the machine itself may affect operation of the control system. Also, such conditions may have an effect on the overall efficiency of the machine or its associated work cycle. It is beneficial to determine such conditions and manage the control of earthmoving machines to ensure that material moving operations are performed in an efficient manner. Similarly, the locations at which earthmoving machines alter surfaces of a work site, and/or the profiles along which the machines alter the surfaces, should be chosen such that the machine functions efficiently.
In some working situations, the work surface has an expected height, at which the earthmoving machine may make an initial cut or pass and plan the depth of the pass based on the expected height. Some past control systems employing automated excavation planning like, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,620,535 (“System for Automated Excavation Planning and Control”) include schemes for adjusting excavation plans based on a missed volume from a pass.
However, even with the adjustments made in prior systems, bumps above an expected height may be present and not accounted for. Such bumps may not be factored into the initial pass calculation and, therefore, may cause the calculated pass to include a volume of materials to be pushed that is too large for the earthmoving machine to handle. If the volume of materials is too large for the earthmoving machine to handle, the materials may not be adequately cleared and/or the earthmoving machine may enter a stall condition when the weight and/or volume of the materials are beyond material moving capacity of the machine. Entering a stall condition, generally, is undesirable in any operating scenario; but stall occurring during automated operation of machines is especially harmful to smooth operations for automated work.
Additionally or alternatively, the dozer may get stuck because, with the existence of such bumps, a cut depth may be set near the bump. For each cut, the volume calculated for a pass should be less than or equal to a full blade. Therefore, even if the volume calculation is made after information is considered regarding the leftover bump, the dozer may get stuck from cutting too deep relative to the existing terrain, even if a lesser volume is expected.
Therefore, systems and methods for controlling operation of earthmoving machines, wherein pass depth can be adjusted based on materials above an expected height of a work surface, are desired.